Coke vs Pepsi: A Marketing Mix Analysis

This project analyzes the marketing mix strategies employed by Coca-Cola and Pepsi, two major competitors in the beverage industry. It examines their target audiences, pricing strategies, distribution channels, and promotional activities. The research utilizes secondary data sources like previous studies, documents, and census information to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of each company's approach. The aim is to understand how these marketing strategies contribute to the success or failure of both brands within the same product-market.

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Project Statement
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Project Statement
Background
In a long time, the battle between Pepsi and Coke created a scenario of different
strategies that has developed an exciting case study for marketing experts. This is the result of
constant innovation and a violent behavior often towards building of brand image. Pepsi is such a
brand which had gone through bankruptcy twice but still made an effort to keep its position firm
by making some amendments like expansion of their portfolio in the food industry. In this way it
had become the prime competitor of Coca Cola and gained the fourth position in terms of food
and beverage company (Iivonen 2017).
Project topic
Strategic management refers to the identification and description of the strategies that are
carried out by the managers to achieve better performance and cutting edge competitiveness in
the organization. The organization is considered for competitive advantage if they have a high
profitability compared to other companies in the industry. It can be defined as a bunch of
decisions and actions undertaken by the managers to decide the performance of the organization.
Coke had claimed their product to fit into healthy balanced diet when drank in the right
proportion whereas Pepsi had adhered to the expectations of the customers by making a delicious
and enjoyable drink for a healthy life. Coke had targeted all the people from children and adults
to younger generation, sports personalities and celebrities but Pepsi had targeted only the young
people, sports personalities and celebrities (Menon and Yao 2017). Their distribution market
remained same such as the grocery store, retail malls and shops. There lies a difference between

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the two companies where Coke depends on cost based pricing and Pepsi depends on competition
based pricing.
Coke has a well established global brand which has a tie up with the local businessmen
and they possess string economy to acquire local business. They advertise their less popular
products for brand recognition and to carve competition. Their strong competitor is Pepsi and
other local brands. Pepsi is an internationally recognized brand with global experience. They got
the beneficial advantage over Coke by learning from their mistakes. They also have the
opportunity to expand their business because non- carbonated drinks industry is rapidly
increasing towards healthy food (Rahman and Kumar 2016). They have segmented their
consumer section on the basis of behavior, psychograph and profile. They have developed their
brand equity by using strategies such as advertising, sales promotion, event experience, word of
mouth marketing, digital marketing, Public Relations, brand awareness, image and relationship.
Purpose of the research
The aim of this research is to do an analysis of the marketing mix of the two competitors,
Coke and Pepsi in the same product- market and draw a conclusion regarding their success by
applying specific strategies.
Literature Review
The theories that are related to this topic are- SWOT analysis of Coke and Pepsi and
BCG matrix (Rosenbaum-Elliott Percy and Pervan 2015).
Research method

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The project will be based only on secondary data which have been gathered from
previous researches, documents, census and other authentic works.

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References
Iivonen, K., 2017. Defensive Responses to Strategic Sustainability Paradoxes: Have Your Coke
and Drink It Too!. Journal of Business Ethics, pp.1-19.
Menon, A.R. and Yao, D.A., 2017. Elevating Repositioning Costs: Strategy Dynamics and
Competitive Interactions. Strategic Management Journal.
Rahman, M.A. and Kumar, S., 2016. Consumer Perception of Selecting Brand: A Comparative
Study between Pepsi Cola And Mojo Cola.
Rosenbaum-Elliott, R., Percy, L. and Pervan, S., 2015. Strategic brand management. Oxford
University Press, USA.